Chapter 168 Dreams and Wishful Thinking

Ashikaga Yoshimachi was quite intentional, because he at least found an envoy who could speak Chinese, so that there wouldn't be any communication problems.

However, sometimes this may not be a good thing.

"Wait a moment!" After hearing a few words, Zhu Zhanhe felt something was wrong and stopped the envoy's statement.

At this time, a strange smile appeared on Zhu Zhanhe's face.

It seems like a smile but not a smile, but it also feels a bit like I can't laugh or cry.

"You, the shogunate, want us to retreat, and you also want us to declare to the outside world that we are no match for your shogunate's regular army and retreat in defeat."

"Is that what you mean? Or is there something wrong with my understanding?"

"Your Highness, Your Highness, our Ashikaga General indeed hopes that you will do this, but we will also compensate Your Highness, Your Highness."

The envoy of the shogunate lowered his head and his body couldn't stop shaking, but he could only bite the bullet and continue speaking.

"Before that, you may wish to take a look at the compensation list issued by our Ashikaga General. Our general is very sincere."

"Oh? What's the sincerity?" Zhu Zhanhe didn't know what to say for a moment.

He really made Ashikaga Yoshimochi happy.

"Let us declare to the outside world that we have returned defeated, and then provide some so-called compensation to fool us. What compensation can be worth the impact of our Ming army's so-called defeat?"

"His Royal Highness!" The envoy was obviously anxious, because if the peace talks failed, he would most likely send it.

"Our general is really sincere, and the previous incidents of rogue bandits invading the Ming Dynasty's waters really have nothing to do with our general. They were all organized voluntarily by some refugees, as well as the younger brother of our shogun."

"You may not know that our shogun's younger brother..."

"Stop!" Zhu Zhanhe stretched out his hand to stop.

"I'm not interested in your internal affairs. It's a war now, and it's a national war. Is your noble shogun planning to fool me like this?"

As he spoke, Zhu Zhanhe held up the compensation list with a half-smile.

"Is this the compensation you gave? To send the beggars away?"

"Let me ask you a question. Iwami's Silver Mountain can produce one million taels of silver a year. In addition, we don't need our own people to be miners. This means that we only need to be stationed here, and the rest will be fine.

There are no expenses.”

"I'll give you one more concession. Considering that our Ming army can only be stationed in Shijian for twenty years, how much silver is this?"

"But how much compensation do you think the shogun will give us? And will we have to lose the bad reputation of being defeated?"

"His Royal Highness!" The messenger was shaking like chaff, but he still tried to keep calm.

"Our shogun is really sincere. The contents on this list are just compensation for the withdrawal of your troops this time. From now on, our annual tribute will be three times the previous amount..."

"Go away!" Zhu Zhanhe unceremoniously threw the compensation list in the envoy's face.

"I didn't even mention this, how dare you mention it to me?"

"Are your tributes in previous years a tribute? Every year you bring some rags in exchange for rewards from our Ming Dynasty. We don't hold you accountable, but in the end you still think it's what you deserve?"

"Three times? What's the use of three times!?"

"Even if it is tripled, and excluding the rewards given to you by our Ming Dynasty, how many rich men do you give us in a year?"

"His...His Royal Highness the Crown Prince..." Zhu Zhanhe's inability to make any progress made the envoy somewhat at a loss.

"This... your army has not been home for more than a year, and there are... uh... some casualties..."

"It would be beneficial to both of us to withdraw our troops at this time!"

"and……"

"And what?" Zhu Zhanhe looked at the envoy with a half-smile, and at this time he felt it was quite interesting.

"And our shogun guarantees it!" The envoy gritted his teeth and forced himself to calm down.

"The so-called defeat is only in name. We will ensure that this news does not spread to anywhere except our Japanese country!"

"Come on!" Zhu Zhanhe sneered.

"Don't spread the word? Stop being ridiculous!"

"Perhaps after this battle you will not dare to stroke Ming Dynasty's beard for a long time, but who in your Japanese country doesn't know that?"

"If you don't invade the Ming Dynasty, will you not invade Korea? What about the Ryukyu Kingdom?"

"The reason why your shogun added this request to the peace talks is because he wants to stabilize his position and avoid being pushed out by his younger brother after the war?"

"To what extent will this news be spread? If others don't know, do you know? Do you think I know?"

After speaking, Zhu Zhanhe crossed his legs and looked at the envoy with contempt.

"From the content of the peace talks to the so-called compensation list, I have not seen any sincerity from your shogun. If you just want to send me away, then I would like you to send a message to your shogun.

"

"Having dreams is a good thing, but there is a difference between dreams and wishful thinking!"

"His Royal Highness!" The envoy seemed to have completely lost his sense of control. He knelt down and moved forward a few steps in panic.

"If you have conditions, we can still negotiate. We are very sincere..."

Ding~

The sudden change of situation caught everyone by surprise. The Japanese envoy completed the transformation from kneeling down to beg for mercy to becoming murderous in less than a breath.

However, he failed to break through the guards of Zhu Ling and Zhu Ping.

"How interesting..." Zhu Zhanhe spat disdainfully.

"You have to have a warrior disguised as a civil servant like a messenger. Do you really think I'm blind and can't see it?"

"Zhu Ling! Send someone to Danbo! Let them take a good look!"

"yes!"

Zhu Ling immediately accepted the order, and was very cruel in his actions. He directly picked up the dagger that the envoy dropped, inserted it into the envoy's chest, and then dragged it out.

As the curtain of the camp tent opened, the soldiers surrounding the camp fled in panic.

However, there were too many people, and due to curiosity, many people still saw the dagger stuck in the chest of the Japanese envoy.

"What is that?" Tan Zhong had sharp eyes and quick reactions, and was the first to ask.

"Zhu Ling and Zhu Ping don't seem to have this kind of dagger, right? Could it be that our Highness did it?"

"Isn't that right? Our Highness doesn't seem to have the habit of carrying weapons with him. I remember that if it weren't for the command of the battle formation, His Highness would not even be willing to carry a saber, right?"

"I remember too..." Li Bin's eyes narrowed, and a dangerous light flashed in the gaps between his eyelids.

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said that this saber is too heavy and he doesn't like it very much..."

There were hundreds of people around, and there was no shortage of sharp-eyed people, so the news naturally spread quickly. And among the 100,000 people in the Ming army, there could always be a few smart-minded people.

In less than half an hour, the Japanese envoys failed to reach peace talks, and the news of their intention to assassinate Zhu Zhanhe spread like wildfire, quickly spreading throughout the entire army.

The morale of the Ming army was already high, and in addition to the fact that they had just built a Jingguan of unprecedented scale, it could be said that every Ming army soldier carried murderous intent.

Now that I got this news again, the Ming army's camp immediately exploded.

Zhu Zhanhe felt the noisy atmosphere created by the soldiers outside the camp and raised the corners of his mouth.

As for the assassination, I don't know whether this was an impulsive move by the envoy who knew that he would die if the peace talks failed, or whether this was an order given to him by Ashikaga Yoshinori.

But no matter what, this is not a wise choice.

Let alone the Ming army that killed hundreds of thousands of enemies in the Japanese country, even if it were a most ordinary army, after learning that the top general had been assassinated, the crowd would be excited, and the morale would rise by more than one level.

What's more, are the Ming troops currently on the island comparable to ordinary armies?

——

Yingtianfu, Chang'an Street.

A mansion usually has different effects due to different plaques at the door, and the mansion in front of you is.

Solution to the government.

Today's Jie Mansion is a little different from usual. Because Xie Jin is responsible for the compilation of the Yongle Canon, he is still quite busy, and he can be regarded as one of the busiest people in the Ming Dynasty.

Today, Xie Jin not only did not go out, but also gathered many people at home.

Huang Huai, Hu Yan, Jin Youzi, as well as Yang Shiqi, Yang Rong and Yang Pu, who were later known as the three Yangs in the cabinet, were all there.

Except for Hu Guang, who resigned and returned to his hometown, all the bachelors of Wenyuan Pavilion of Yongle Dynasty have arrived.

"Everyone, please express your opinion." As the host, Xie Jin sat down and was the first to speak after pouring tea for everyone.

"The lineage of the King of Han is growing stronger day by day, and now it has brought back a grain yield that is several times that of rice and wheat. Not to mention it is at the peak of its power, but it has already become as powerful as His Highness the Crown Prince, and even seems to be faintly surpassing it."

"The King of Han is close to the military generals and far away from us civil servants. The Crown Prince of Han is a warlike and murderous person. If the King of Han ascends to the throne, what consequences will it have for us civil servants? I don’t need to think about it.

I won’t go into details.”

"Now, it is the time when the Crown Prince of Han is marching eastward against Japan. I got the news a few days ago that the Crown Prince of Han has built another Jingguan in Lake Shindo of Japan. The number of people there has reached a terrifying 300,000 people, and it is very possible that there are even more."
To be continued...